A Matter of Heart
by xxkawaii-nekoxx
Summary: --Cloud is forced to choose between his heart, and the girl who stole it two years before. But what is she keeping from him? ((CloudxAerith, FFVII crossover in later chapters))--
1. Prolouge, 'A moment of light'

((A/N: Okay, deep breath, I'm writing a CloRis. I know this doesn't seem like much on this name, but I'm cloti-4ever...not a CloRis person. But this is KH, and nobody here even knows about Tifa, which is a good thing for my rep as a CloudxTifa girl. I don't like the couple, and I'm probably gonna make Aeris..erm...Aerith very out of character, but I don't care. ^^ anyways, enjoy!))  
  
"You're...serious?" Cloud Strife's voice was slow, and definately skeptic. What he was doing was stupid, and he knew it even without the warnings going off in his head. The love of his life had died two years before, and it was his fault. If he could bring her back...there was nothing he wouldn't give.   
  
"Dead serious." Hades chuckled, but Cloud obviously didn't appreciate the pun. His crystal blue eyes blazed into the god's yellowed ones, a fear concealed behind the strange mix of anger and hope.  
  
"And I just have to die?" Cloud continued, not for a second thinking that Aerith being alive would affect him in no way if he were dead. 'She'll be happy...and alive....it'll be worth it.' he kept reminding himself, if the thought crossed his mind even for a second.  
  
"No no no! Kid, you've got it all wrong!" Hades exclaimed. "I want your heart, not your life." His large eyes narrowed, gazing into Cloud's chest, as if he could see the heart beating within it already. Cloud caught his gaze and stepped back, nervously. Why did he feel so cold all of a sudden?  
  
"Wouldn't I *die* without a heart?" Then it dawned on him...Hades was going to make him a heartless. Without a soul...not literally without a heart. Why hadn't he figured it out before? His mind reeled now, trying to grasp the concept. 'But....couldn't I hurt her?'  
  
"See...now you're catching on....and...if ya act now, I'll tell ya what....you'll have total freedom. Go wherever you want, do whatever you want. You can even keep that body of yours. Just hand over your heart...and....she'll be yours."   
  
Attention now turned to the body on the slate slab beyond him, flames licking at her around it. She looked as if she were just sleeping, her perfect pink dress soft and clinging to her motionless body.  
  
"Aerith..." Cloud said softly, moving towards her, an awed feel in his eyes. His heart began to pound, reminding him that he needed to give it up if he was going to have her alive. He turned to Hades. "Fine, it's yours...just make her alive!" He shouted.  
  
Hades smirked, standing now, and walking a few inches from Cloud. "Well, let's just collect that heart-"  
  
"-no." Cloud said, earning a very surprised glance from Hades. "If you're gonna do it, revive her first. I'm not gonna back out...you're a god. It's not like you don't have the powers to catch me even if I try. But...I want to see her once before I lose my heart." He reasoned, and was truthfull on this part. He had no intents to go back on his word, but if he wouldn't be able to love her when she woke, he wanted to see her once while it still mattered.  
  
"You know kid, you're lucky you have the heart you do, because I wouldn't go so out of my way otherwise. Fine." He flicked a finger at the body on the slate, a blue light surrounded her, and she was sitting up a moment later, a bewildered look in her unfocused eyes.  
  
"C-Cloud!?" she shouted, jumping up and running clumsily to him. Her legs didn't seem to function like they used to. She hadn't used them in a long time, though, and that would probably explain it.  
  
"AERITH!" He cried, catching her in his arms as she dashed to them. He hugged her for a long moment, then placed his hands firmly on her shoulders, pushing her back gently. He gently took one of her hands and placed it beneath his colar, pushing it against his heart.  
  
"Aerith....don't forget me, okay?" She could feel his heart pounding a lightning-fast rhythm beneath, and began to become worried. She noticed the tears in his eyes, and could feel her own heart begining to match the rate of his.  
  
"Cloud...Cloud, what are you talking about!?" She cried.  
  
"I love you, Aerith."  
  
Hades smirked, taking his cue and sending a blue orb of power into Cloud's chest. Aeris gasped, pulling back as the large ball entered, then emerged from his chest, the large shell of his heart a reddish-gold tint within.  
  
"CLOUD!" Her blood-curtling scream echoed throughout the caverns of the underworld. Talk about waking the dead.  
  
((A/N: I'm sorry about lack of formatting, but I'm only using notepad...HTML has been odd, and whenever I try to post it on FF.net lately, it's been coming out with the tags showing, and no formatting besides it. Anyways..please Review)) 


	2. ACT 1, Part 1 'Recovery and Reunion'

((I'm actually working on this right after I posted the last chappie, so I don't know if anyone reviewed or likes it or anything. Oh well ^^; Hopefully I'll have it up today or tomorrow! This chapter will be longer, I promise. The last one was jut a prolouge thingy, remember?))'  
  
--2 months later--  
  
Pain shot through Cloud's body, his chest, bare besides some bandages covering his abdomen, ached from an attack hours before. His eyes slowly focused, as did his mind, as he began to recall the events that took place. He remembered at once the fight with Sora...the keyblade master.  
  
That kid was the one destined to seperate the worlds again, and bring light to the every corner of them all? Cloud knew he'd have defeated him if he only had the heart to do it. He smirked at even thinking this. Having a heart wasn't something that Cloud Strife did...at least not for the past two months. But he couldn't bring himself to defeat the boy.  
  
He knew that there was a magical barrier in works on the arena, preventing any real physical damage from occuring. But there were still kinks in the system. That was why he was laying there right now, his belly deeply bruised, and at least three of four broken ribs digging into what he was sure were vital organs.  
  
Then...Cerberus. Sora, he recalled the boy's name as, hadn't done this damage. It was Hades' guard dog that had nearly killed him. He wouldn't be completely surprised if he *had* died, and simply been revived, but that wasn't important. He swung his legs painfully over the side of the bed, surveying his surroundings.  
  
A few more small beds, all of which were empty, lined the wall. There was some medical equipment between the beds, against the walls. 'A hospital?' Cloud frowned, not recalling such a place ever being there. This must've been new since the heartless became more of a problem.  
  
It wasn't until he tried to stand, that he noticed the IV in his arm. He trailed it to a small bag of crimson hanging near him. He sighed, and glanced down at his bandages, which were stained with the same liquid. 'blood'. He easily deduced, as he worked to slide the needle out of his arm.  
  
"Leave that in." A light voice came from the doorway at the far end of the room. Cloud turned to meet a pair of purple eyes with his. It was a teenage girl, clothed in a short pair of khaki shorts, socks that nearly met where they ended, a forest-green sweater-style tank top that bended slightly above her naval, and some orange sneakers.  
  
Cloud brushed a tuft of yellow hair from his crystal blue eyes, slowly recalling seeing the girl before. He sighed, and rubbed his eyes as he rested his face in his hands.  
  
"How're you feelin'?" She asked, fairly bouncing over to him. The teenage girl plopped down on the bed next to him, situating herself cross-legged, and holding her feet in her small hands.  
  
"Like Shit." Cloud mumbled, then looked up at her, questioningly. "What are you doing here, anyways, Yuffie?" He asked, pulling his legs back onto the bed, and lounging back against a stack of pillows.  
  
"I've been working here for that lil' goat dude. The heartless are getting out of control, and more and more people are showing up in pretty bad shape. Even worse than you...if that's possible." She looked him over once, from head to tow. "You look a lot better than you have the past few days." She said after a short pause.  
  
"Days?" Cloud asked, genuinely surprised this time. He was out for days? Even more surprising, Yuffie kept him alive during those days? Something seemed off, or maybe the young ninja actually had matured. He smiled slightly. Something was definately off, he decided.  
  
"That Cerberus thing got you good, Cloud." Yuffie nodded. "You've got what...about four or five broken ribs, and probably something ruptured down in your abdomen, nothing vital if you're still alive though, I guess. And...." She frowned now. "And why the hell didn't you tell us!?" she suddenly snapped.  
  
'of course.' Cloud sighed. He remembered running into Yuffie a few weeks ago, when she was there for some training with her new boyfriend...Squall, he thought his name was. They spent the day doing some training, and just catching up, not that they had much to talk about. They hadn't seen eachother in years, but they never were really close.  
  
Talking about how he sacraficed his heart to revive the girl he'd loved wasn't exactally normal conversation, either. Not something he'd willingly tell Yuffie...or anyone else for that matter. But when he gets beat half to death by a dog, things like not having a heart come up.  
  
"How'd you figure it out?" He asked quietly. Physically, he was the same as any other person. He had a heart thumping in his chest, which he could feel beating rather hard right now.   
  
She poked his chest, and he sighed. The insignia, of course. It was a huge, burnt, welted scratch over his heart, the symbol of a heartless. It had appeared slowly after he lost his heart, and became more and more evident untill now, as it was deep contrast to his pale skin.  
  
"Oh." He said plainly, not much else to be said about it.  
  
"But...you're not a heartless, I mean...in body. And.......you're not...."  
  
"killing you?" Cloud finished her sentence, and she just nodded. He sighed, not wnating to explain this. Because then she would know he cared for someone. Well, at one point. He couldn't really care any more, now, could he?  
  
"Think you could explain?" Yuffie asked, her eyes even wider than usual. Cloud sighed, wanting less and less with each passing second to explain what had happened. Maybe he could just make something up? Yes! He could always lie.  
  
"Hades." He said quietly, just praying he wouldn't have to say anything more. The look on her face said otherwise, but to his surprise, she didn't pry. Maybe Squall was changing her.   
  
"Well....here....I should probably just check your vitals quick, you know, protocal and everything. This is like a real hospital in a lot of ways...." Yuffie said quietly, rummaging through a drawer filled of files, then another with various instruments.  
  
An akward silence filled the air, but Cloud could live with akward. Yuffie silently took his blood pressure and temperature, then leaned in to hear his heartbeat.  
  
'It's so...surreal...' Yuffie thought, listening to the steady thump-thumps. She sighed and pulled away, scribbling things in the file folder, and shoving it back in the drawer.  
  
"Right....well, I don't know when they're gonna kick you out, but you seem to be doing better...." Yuffie said, and left. Simple as that...she was gone. Cloud sighed and layed back on the bed, pulling up the blanket over his head. He slowly drifted off into an uneasy sleep.   
  
---  
  
Rays of light warmed what little bare skin shown on Cloud Strife. He sat at the stairs of the world's exit, hoping to catch Sora before he left. He'd meant to give him a small gift before, but hadn't had the chance to before. He held the small stone in his hand, Sonic Blade. An ability stone, giving the owner the chance to use the contained attack.  
  
'Like Materia.' A voice rang in his head. 'materia?' a puzzled look found its way to his lowered face. 'what the *hell* is materia?' Why was he even thinking about something like that? The word sounded less than foriegn in his mind, but he couldn't for the life of him recall what 'materia' was.  
  
Why did it feel like there was a part of his past torn from him? Like he was missing something vital. 'Materia'. The word repeated itself in his head over and over. Why couldn't he remember? He looked up slightly, and reminded himself that he was supposed to be seeing the keybearer, who was only a few yards away now.   
  
Now was not the time to worry about 'materia'.  
  
((Sorry for another short chapter, but I'm eating and I wanna make a new RP site and stuff, so I'll have to make this some more later, alright? please review  
  
--Kawaii)) 


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